Sierra County Clerk Connie Greer during Friday’s, Nov. 7, special meeting of the County Commission, reported the voter turnout for Tuesday’s General Election was 46 percent.

Greer said a combination of new voting machines and the last-minute addition of some poll workers presented minor challenges that were efficiently addressed.

While polling locations in some metropolitan areas like Bernalillo County experienced long voting lines, county officials widely reported that was not the case in Sierra County.

“I have waited a lot longer in the line at Walmart,” Commission Vice Chair Frances Luna quipped.

“We had some very good poll workers, and I have a very good staff in the office,” said Greer.

County Manager Bruce Swingle, who joined the county in August, said he’s observed plenty of elections during his career and that the Sierra County Clerk’s Office impressed on Election Day.

“I have not seen any election run as smooth, and that’s a credit to your staff,” he told Greer.

The county manager later added, “I heard that people claimed that they were turned away and not allowed to vote, and I didn’t see that, and I certainly haven’t had any reports of that.”

“I haven’t had any calls,” Greer confirmed.

Which prompted Commission Chairman Walter Armijo to criticize rumor-mongering on social media, “especially with all these Facebook experts. They put all this stuff out and don’t even taken any consideration into doing research. They just get a little piece of everything and that’s where all this crap starts from.”

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